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State Bar of California Releases Results of February 2021 Bar Exam

Today the State Bar released results of the February 2021 California Bar Exam and announced that 1,151 people (37.2 percent of applicants) passed the General Bar Exam. This pass rate represents an increase of 10.4 percentage points, or nearly 39 percent, from the February 2020 General Bar Exam pass rate of 26.8 percent. If those who passed the exam satisfy all other requirements for admission, they will be eligible to be licensed by the State Bar to practice law in California.

“We heartily congratulate the 1,151 applicants who passed the General Bar Exam and the 247 candidates who passed the Attorneys’ Exam, particularly after facing and overcoming the many challenges of 2020. We hope to welcome all those who passed to California’s legal profession very soon," said Donna Hershkowitz, Interim Executive Director of the State Bar.

This year’s February exam was the second administered remotely, after the near-record cohort who took the exam in October. It was also the second graded under the reduced cut score of 1390, directed by the California Supreme Court in July 2020. If the cut score had remained at 1440, approximately 734 General Bar Exam takers (23.7 percent) would have passed this examination.

The February exam cohort was smaller than typical for a February exam (approximately 3,100 compared to 4,000–5,000 on average), likely attributable to the increased number of test takers for the October 2020 exam cohort, the availability of the new provisional licensure program, and the higher pass rate on the October exam. As is typical, a majority of the February exam cohort were repeat takers, although at a lower percentage than average (approximately 60 percent compared to the typical 70 percent).

February 2021 General Bar Exam preliminary statistics

• Completed the exam: 3,098 applicants
• First-time applicants: 1,227 (39.6 percent of total)
• Pass rate for first-time applicants: 53.0 percent overall
• Repeat applicants: 1,871 (60.4 percent of total)
• Pass rate for repeat applicants: 27.0 percent overall

Pass rate for the General Bar Exam (rounded to whole numbers) by law school type:

School Type	First-Timers	Repeaters
California ABA	65%	39%
Out-of-State ABA	58%	26%
California Accredited (not ABA)	44%	17%
Unaccredited: Fixed-Facility	0%	0%
Unaccredited: Correspondence	43%	20%
Unaccredited: Distance-Learning	47%	17%
All Others	47%	23%
All Applicants	53%	27%

General information about the structure and content of the General Bar Exam.

The Attorneys’ Examination is open to those who have been admitted to the active practice of law and are in good standing for at least four years in another U.S. jurisdiction. Of the 432 attorneys who completed the Attorneys’ Examination, 247 (57.2 percent) passed.

A pass list from the exam will be published on the State Bar website on May 9, 2021, at 6:00 a.m. More detailed statistics about exam results will be available in four to six weeks on the State Bar website.

Successful applicants who satisfy all requirements for admission may take the Attorney’s Oath individually or participate in admissions ceremonies held by their law school or others. Due to the current COVID-19 restrictions, the State Bar’s Office of Admissions will not hold its admissions ceremonies and has posted instructions for individuals to be sworn in remotely.

If they have satisfied all other requirements, applicants are eligible to practice law in California after taking the Attorney’s Oath and submitting their oath card to the State Bar. Approximately two weeks after forwarding the oath card to the State Bar, their names will appear on the agency’s roll of licensed attorneys accessible on the State Bar website.

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The State Bar of California's mission is to protect the public and includes the primary functions of licensing, regulation and discipline of attorneys; the advancement of the ethical and competent practice of law; and support of efforts for greater access to, and inclusion in, the legal system.